ROME (AP) — Pope Francis met privately yesterday with a Sudanese woman who refused to recant her
Christian faith in the face of a death sentence, blessing the woman as she cradled her infant
daughter born just weeks ago in prison.

The Vatican characterized the visit with Meriam Ibrahim, 27, her husband and their two small
children as “very affectionate.”

The 30-minute encounter took place just hours after the family landed at Rome’s Ciampino
airport, accompanied by an Italian diplomat who helped negotiate her release. They were welcomed by
Italy’s premier, who hailed it as a “day of celebration.”

Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim but whose mother was an Orthodox Christian from Ethiopia, was
sentenced to death over charges of apostasy. She married Daniel Wani, a Christian from southern
Sudan. Muslim women in Sudan are prohibited from marrying non-Muslims.